Posts by Elsewhere

things are what they are.. everything acts according to its nature.. nothing escapes its own nature.. we cannot be other than what we are and our "choices" follow our nature.. consequently, can we not say correctly that free choice is merely our ignorance of the fact that all our actions and choices are predetermined by our nature?.

1. if you are offered either a handful of dog poop or a cold dove bar---is your "choice" really much of a choice?

2. offer a heterosexual male a night with a hot chick or a hot dude...is the outcome really "choice"?

Elsewhere

I do suspect this might be true.

Think about it: A con man can you make you sincerely believe you chose to do something, when in reality it really was not your choice... it was his.

We all make different decisions based on what mood we might happen to be in at any given moment. This is further evidence that we are subject to the influence of arbitrary feelings and thought processes.

As an example: If we are in a good mood and something annoying happens that causes us to make a choice, we will likely have a calm response. However, if we happen to already be irritated and in a bad mood, when the same annoying thing happens we will have a more erratic and emotional response.

We *think* it is our choice, but in reality there are many unknown forces at work that influence our though process.

6

guess who a retired US general blames for the massacre of 8000 Bosnian men at Srebrenica in 1995

by aligot ripounsous in

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article7068523.ece.

.

Elsewhere

I have observed first hand that the best way to advance one's carrier is to deflect blame for any failures and assign the blame on someone else.

51

Mouthy Says "Hi"!

by ziddina in

jw
friends

everyone knows our dear mouthy.

she's modified her living arrangements lately... has moved to an "assisted living" facility... on monday, and is still going thru a period of adjustment... .

if there are any of you who live near mouthy.

Elsewhere

Mouthy,

If you want to have some fun, I'll send you this Bug Mask. Wear it all day long.

http://magnum-mania.com/images/8_3_j_full.jpg

3

In the News: Pope Forgives Molested Children

by Elsewhere in

(for those not familiar with the onion, this is a satire website.).

http://www.theonion.com/articles/pope-forgives-molested-children,101/.

pope forgives molested children .

Elsewhere

(For those not familiar with The Onion, this is a Satire website.)

http://www.theonion.com/articles/pope-forgives-molested-children,101/

Pope Forgives Molested Children

VATICAN CITY-Calling forgiveness "one of the highest virtues taught to us by Jesus," Pope John Paul II issued a papal decree Monday absolving priest-molested children of all sin.

"Though grave and terrible sins have been committed, our Lord teaches us to turn the other cheek and forgive those who sin against us," said the pope, reading a prepared statement from a balcony overlooking St. Peter's Square. "That is why, despite the terrible wrongs they have committed, the church must move on and forgive these children for their misdeeds."

"As Jesus said, 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone,'" the pope continued. "We must send a clear message to these hundreds-perhaps thousands-of children whose sinful ways have tempted so many of the church's servants into lustful violation of their holy vows of celibacy. The church forgives them for their transgressions and looks upon them not with intolerance, but compassion."

The papal announcement arrives in response to public outcry over the sex scandal sweeping the Catholic church in the U.S. Though official church doctrine condemns such transgressions, the pope's decision, observers say, is intended to demonstrate the church's willingness to put the scandal behind it and restore the public trust.

"By forgiving these children, primarily churchgoing boys between the ages of 5 and 15, the pope has shown true Christian kindness," said Father Thomas O'Malley, a member of the New York archdiocese and one of the many priests implicated in charges of sexual activity with minors. "The pope is saying that, in their own way, these sinful youths are victims, too. Through their absolution, he sends the important message that empathy, contrary to what naysayers and critics in the secular media would have us believe, does have a place in modern Catholicism."

For Catholics waiting for the pope to break his long silence on the scandal, the sweeping, decisive nature of his response has come as welcome relief.

"The pope has shown great love and compassion, much as Jesus did when he ministered to tax collectors and whores," said Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston. "Despite all they have done to jeopardize the careers of so many priests-to say nothing of imperiling the priests' immortal souls-the church embraces these underaged seducers and tempters with open arms. The pope's words and actions prove that the church is willing to put an end to the suffering and let the healing begin."

The mass absolution is being hailed by church scholars as one of the Vatican's most progressive acts since the Second Vatican Council in 1962.

"One cannot overstate the break from tradition this represents," said lay administrator Bruce McConnachie of the Los Angeles archdiocese. "After all, under church doctrine, the act of seducing a priest is considered a grave sin against the laws of God, punishable by condemnation to Hell for all eternity. But the pope has put all of that aside. He has let bygones be bygones. For this, all of those misbehaving, sexy little guys should feel grateful. By showing such willingness to forgive and forget, the pope has sent a clear message: Even though these boys have done much to undermine and subvert the priestly vows of celibacy, they are still deserving of God's love."

Margaret Leahy, 39, a Somerville, MA, homemaker and mother of one of the alleged seducers, expressed relief over the pope's announcement.

"For months, I feared that my boy-and the dozens of others who committed sinful acts with Father Halloran before he was moved to the safety of another parish to protect him from further temptation at their pre-pubescent hands-was going to Hell for what he'd done," Leahy said. "It's the worst feeling a mother can know. But thanks to the forgiveness of the pope, my long nightmare is finally over. He was just a boy of 8 at the time. He didn't know any better. Thank you, your Holiness, for giving my poor little Timothy a second chance at redemption."

However, not everyone within the Catholic church is so supportive of the pope's actions.

"What kind of a message is the pope sending today's children? That it's okay to seduce priests?" said one concerned Baltimore priest who asked to remain anonymous due to a pending court case. "With the pope's announcement, the church is essentially telling its youngest members, 'Go ahead and let Father So-And-So reach into your swim trunks at the church-youth-group pool party. It's okay, the pope will forgive you in the end.' Without fear of eternal damnation, how are these provocative young lotharios ever going to learn?"

"As the creep of secular humanism continues to chip away at our most sacred institutions, the Vatican has established a dangerous precedent," the priest continued. "We look to the church's authority for justice and righteousness, not politically convenient solutions that maintain the status quo. These nubile sinners should be held accountable for the damage they've done."

110

An Explanation of why TIME TRAVEL does not work

by Terry in

jw
friends

energy and matter are neither created nor destroyed.. consequently, the building blocks of existence are actually finite parts.. to create things in "tomorrow" which are new, something has to be dismantled to leave spare parts for tomorrow's new thing.. the old thing deteriorates, (dies/disintegrates) and the parts become available to make the new thing.. time travel requires going to a place where today's parts are available to be rearranged.. some of today's things persist as they are, of course.

they only travel through time by persisting as they are.

(mountains, for example.).

Elsewhere

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/time_machine.png

12

Study: Marijuana may not impair driving ability

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

i agree that more studies are needed to nail this down for sure, but this study is quite impressive.. "the effects of alcohol on driver-controlled behavior in a driving simulator, phase i," dot-hs-806-414.

marijuana may not impair driving ability at all.

by steve elliott in news wednesday, mar.

Elsewhere

> Ohhhh Elsewhere.

I'm just say'in!

13

Research project on Kingdom Halls - requesting assistance

by PharmacyStudent in

i am a student in pharmacy school who has been assigned to do some research for a multicultural awareness class.

i was assigned to gather information about jehovah's witnesses and present it to the class, and as part of the project, i need to get the information directly from a jehovah's witness.

my part of the project focuses on the place of worship for jehovah's witnesses, which i understand is called a kingdom hall.

Elsewhere

PharmacyStudent,

Look in your phone book (or use the internet) to find the nearest Kingdom Hall, then go and visit and ask your questions.

Once you have that information, come back here and we will let you know what information has been skewed by the members in an attempt to put a positive spin on the religion. We will provide documentation to demonstrate how it is skewed.

10

Before you read this: Which is the Fastest Growing Religion in America??

by Terry in

jw
friends

new survey: those with no religion fastest-growing traditionmarch 09, 2009 11:34 am et | dan gilgoff | permanent link | printby dan gilgoff, god & country.

a major new survey of religion in america reports three huge trends: that "nones"people claiming no religionconstitute the only "religious" tradition that's growing in all 50 states, that nearly 40 percent of mainline protestants now also identify themselves as evangelical or born again, and that the nation's massive roman catholic population has shifted from the northeast to the southwest.

according to one survey's investigators, "california now has a higher proportion of catholics than new england.".

Elsewhere

> fullfilling Matthew 24:12 "... the love of the greater number will cool off."

I don't understand the reasoning of the speaker. How is leaving organized religion a form of "the love of the greater number will cool off." ?

Is he saying that non-religious people experience and extend less love than religious people? If so, why? What does he have to backup that statement?